Ruïne in een bos c. 1896

Willem de Zwart made this etching, "Ruin in a Forest", using the labor-intensive process of intaglio printmaking. The image began as a design scratched into a metal plate. The artist would have used acid to bite into the exposed lines, creating grooves that hold ink. Notice the fine network of lines that create the scene's atmosphere. De Zwart would have painstakingly removed imperfections, and burnished the plate to control the tonal range. A damp paper would have been pressed against the inked plate, transferring the image and creating the embossed edges characteristic of etchings. Consider the time and skill required to produce this image. The artist had to demonstrate a mastery of craft, and technical ingenuity. By valuing the labor involved, we can appreciate this small print not just as a picture, but as evidence of human ingenuity, and the artist's commitment to the materiality of image-making.